“No one ever bought a Corolla because they thought they looked good driving one.” That could be said by any number of automotive critics, but this time it came from Bob Carter, the senior VP of Toyota’s automotive operations. Harsh? Maybe. But we can’t disagree.

Toyota hopes to make the new Corolla matter as the 2014 redesign reaches dealers. When it's parked next to a closeout 2013 model, you can immediately spot the differences, and they are for the better. Carrying design hints of the Furia concept, the new car loses the top-heavy, tiptoeing look that saddled the outgoing one. It is more up-to-date and slightly more assertive, especially in its front-end treatment. The interior has been revamped, with front passengers treated to a new dash and console layout; rear passengers enjoy a near four-inch boost in legroom.

Beneath the new skin, a continuously variable transmission (CVT) is offered for the first time in a North American Toyota, joining a conventional four-speed automatic and six-speed manual. Depending on trim level, one of two 1.8-liter engines are on duty. In the LE Eco package, Toyota anticipates 42 mpg returns.

So at first glance — and from the impressions of our own testing — it might seem Toyota has merely brought the Corolla up-to-date without taking any major leaps forward, compared with its rivals. There’s more to it, though. To understand why the new Corolla matters and how far this 11th generation has come, let’s take a quick historical look at the car that has been produced almost 40 million times in the last 50 years.

Despite the dominance associated with Toyota today, the automaker’s 1958 U.S. debut was inauspicious, and that’s being generous: one dealer in Hollywood, 288 units sold. Most were the Toyopet Crown, a sedan that worked for the Japanese market but lacked the style and power to cut it in America. A few Land Cruiser sales were all that kept the doors open until the more viable Toyota Corona sedan resuscitated sales in 1965.

The first (successful) incarnation of the Corolla: the Toyopet.

Then, in 1968, the first Corolla reached the U.S. and essentially cemented Toyota’s presence here. Building on the momentum created by the Corona, it stood out as a staple of reliability and value, even if that wasn’t entirely fashionable in the automotive landscape here. What it lacked in panache, it delivered in efficiency. It simply worked when you turned the key and flipped switches, and it wasn’t totally shot after 100,000 miles. Early cars in Rust Belt regions could succumb more easily than others, but that was also addressed and improved through the years. Fuel economy that was double or even triple that of larger cars went from marketing gimmick to must-have when the 1973 oil crisis made gas pricey and even unavailable.

And while the Corolla was extending its welcome here, it was also proving itself in dozens of other countries and, eventually, was built around the world as well. That includes the U.S., where the New United Motor Manufacturing, Inc. (NUMMI) joint venture with General Motors would turn out Corollas as well as cars bearing the Geo (and, later, Chevrolet) Prizm name. As a benchmark of economical transportation, Corolla made the switch to front-wheel drive and graduated from subcompact class to compact.

Little by little, though, competitors caught up and the Toyota became vulnerable. It was like 1968, only Corolla was playing the opposite role this time. It was becoming old guard, and worthy rivals appeared from unlikely places, like Korea and even the U.S. Even as Corolla sales stayed the course, it was obvious Toyota couldn’t. To ensure sales of the 12th, 13th and 14th generations of the car, it had to step it up with the 11th. And it seems to have succeeded, albeit in the restrained manner we have come to expect from the automaker, especially where this car is concerned.

So now that Corolla has taken a considerable step forward, it’s ready to be taken seriously against others in its class. It still doesn’t have an ounce of swag, but it does move the bar. The competitors in this class have never been as plentiful or as formidable, and they will take notice. They will react with even better cars, and so will Toyota, in turn.

Ready to shake off its point-A-to-point-B appliance image, the new Corolla matters as a more stylish choice to buyers. It also serves notice to competitors that the small Toyota sedan isn’t readily giving up the segment it defined and dominated.